Ghost Whisperer
by rjbridge
Summary: Sara dies, but her soul cannot crossover. GSR. Crossover with Ghost Whisperer. COMPLETE
1. One Year Later

Summary: It's one year later, and Catherine has a talk with Grissom. Sara comes to a realization.

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to CBS.

A/N: This is a crossover with Ghost Whisperer. So if you don't know much about that, you may have trouble following in later chapters, but I may help with that if you need it. Thanks for reading!

**Chapter 1: One Year Later**

I sit in the chair across from Grissom. A case file is in front of him, but he hasn't read a single word. He's been staring at it for the past half hour or better. I don't really keep track of time much anymore.

Just then Catherine comes in. She looks almost as sad as Grissom. But I'm sure the pain she feels is nowhere close.

No one seems to be happy anymore. The atmosphere here is always gloomy. I have no idea why I even stick around here. I need to leave. I've needed to for a while.

But I can't.

I don't even see it anymore. I saw it for a while, but I realized I couldn't leave and soon it went away.

If I want to go, and I do, I need help. There has to be someone out there who can help me see it again. The peace I felt was unimaginable, but once I remembered the reason I couldn't, I no longer felt at peace.

Catherine walks toward the chair I'm in. I move and she sits where I was. "You want to talk about it?"

"About what?"

"Come on Grissom, you know what, Sara. It's been a year ago today. It would be good to talk about her."

A year! I look at the calendar, and sure enough, May 17, 2008. One year later. Like I said, I don't really keep track of time anymore.

"No." Grissom says stern reply.

"Come on Grissom. You need to. Whenever someone brings her up, you turn away, and pretend that her dying was no big deal. You two dated for 2 ½ years. Now, you sulk around here like you couldn't get anymore depressed, yet you won't even talk about the only person you ever loved..."

"STOP IT! I don't want to talk about her. I can't. It hurts too much. I loved her more than anything, and now she's gone. She left me all alone. And I can't stand to think about her, but it's all I do. I hate her for what she did. I just don't understand why she would die on me. She didn't even say goodbye." Grissom burst out, tears flowing down his face. He buried his face in his hands. Catherine walked around the desk, and put her arms around him for comfort.

"You can't blame her Griss. I'm sure she didn't want to leave."

I didn't. I held on for as long as I could. The last thing I wanted to do was die and leave him here. Tonight my biggest fear about dying came true.

He hates me.

Now I know that I definitely need to find someone to help me.

I walk over and place my hand on his head. "I will find a way to say goodbye. I love you. Please don't hate me."

I leave to find someone to help. I have no idea where to go, but I will find a way.

**TBC**

Do any GW fans know where the show takes place in. I have no idea. Thanks.


	2. Graveside

Summary: Sara meets someone who can help her.

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Special thanks to LVPDCSIGG for telling me where Ghost Whisperer takes place. Here is chapter 2. Hope you like it. Please review!

**Chapter 2: Graveside**

I sit on the ground next to my grave. I still can't believe it's been a year. And I still can't believe that Grissom didn't cremate me. I told him that if I died that I wanted to be cremated. Oh well. Nothing I can do about that now.

I keep wondering how I am going to get help.

I look around at other people standing at their graves. I wonder how they died. Were they in pain? How long did they suffer? Stuff like that. I suffered and was in pain. Nobody should have to go through all that.

A man walks towards me. He is tall with short brown hair and blue eyes. His clothes are torn and he has a gash above his left eye.

"You want some company?" he asks as he sits next to me.

"Only if you can help me."

"The names Pat. How can I help you?"

"I'm Sara, and I wanted to know if you knew of somebody who can help me talk to someone."

"Like a Ghost Whisperer?"

"A what?" I ask confused. I've been dead a year, and haven't heard of that.

"Someone who can talk to spirits like us. They help us talk to people who are alive, so that we can crossover." he says like everyone should know that.

"Do you know anyone?"

"Yep. But first let's talk. How did you die?"

I don't really want to, but if it will help, why not?

"I was abducted and murderer. How about you?" I say remembering that sad, fateful night.

"Car accident a few years ago. So how come you are still here? Why don't you crossover?"

"Why don't you?" I ask, not wanting to get into this conversation with someone I don't even know.

"I couldn't leave my wife and little girl. I had to make sure they were going to be okay. They are, and now I'm ready. I was about to go when I saw you. You looked like you needed to talk, so I came over, and when we are done, I'm gone. So you know why I'm here, so why are you here?"

"I was going to, but I needed to check on someone first. He was so broken that I couldn't leave him. He still is today, and that's why I can't leave. I want to, but I need to talk to him first. So I need to talk to this 'Ghost Whisperer' you speak of. Where can I find him?"

"Her. And I heard through the spiritual grapevine that she lives in Illinois."

"Now how am I supposed to get there?" I ask wondering how I am supposed to get that far away.

"You haven't done much traveling as a spirit have you?" he asks whilst looking at me like I'm crazy.

"No." And I haven't. I stay at the lab or ride with Grissom to his place. But mostly I stay at the lab.

"Just think about who or where you want to go. Close your eyes and concentrate, and then you are there." he says, once again talking like I should know this already.

"Oh. It's really that easy?"

"Yep. I do it a lot. Been all over the world. Her name is Melinda Gordon, by the way. She owns a little antique shop in Grandview, Illinois. She is married to Jim, and has a two year old daughter, Andrea. She shouldn't be hard to find. Just stand in the street and she will see you."

"So I guess things spread through the spiritual grapevine pretty fast huh." I joke to him. He sure knows a lot about this Melinda Gordon.

"You have no idea." he laughs.

I laugh along with him. I haven't in so long that it feels strange.

"Well, it was nice talking to you Sara," he says as he stands up. "I have to go. Hope to see you on the other side."

"I hope to too." I say, and with that he is gone. Off to the other side. Whatever is over there. I hope to find out soon.

I close my eyes and concentrate on Melinda Gordon and Grandview, Illinois.

I open my eyes, and look around. In front of me is a little antique shop. Out walks a petite brunette, wearing a brown skirt, and a 'Catherine cut' white top. She looks right at me. Guess Pat was right. Standing in the street did make her see me right away.

She starts to walk towards me, but a man in a blue paramedic's shirt, carrying a small child walks up to her, and kisses her on the cheek. She takes the child, and they walk away.

Melinda looks back at me, but keeps walking. At least I've found her. Now, I just need to talk to her. And I will. For both Grissom and me.

**TBC**


	3. Melinda Gordon

Summary: How Melinda's day went until she saw Sara on the street.

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: Thank you for reading. This chapter is not in Sara's POV. This gives a little information about Melinda. It goes from her morning, until she meets Sara. I wanted to get this up sooner, but I've had finals this week, so I've been studying. But now, I am done, and officially a Junior in high school. So I hope to be writing more.

**Chapter 3: Melinda Gordon**

"Morning!" Melinda Gordon says cheerily as she walks into the kitchen to see her husband and daughter making breakfast.

She grabs a cup and pours some coffee right as Jim sits down the plates.

They were eating peacefully and talking about their day, when Andrea yells, "Hiii!" and points towards an empty space.

Melinda and Jim look to where their daughter pointed.

"I'll be right back." Melinda says as she walks off into the empty room.

But Jim knew better than that. They recently found out that their daughter has inherited her mother's ability to speak to the dead. He knew there was a ghost in the house, and Melinda was leaving to help.

Melinda walks up to the mysterious figure.

"What do you want? Why are you here?"

"I need to leave. Can you help me?" says the man. He is over six feet tall, around forty, and wearing a gray suit.

"What is holding you back?" she asks, wanting to get back to her breakfast, but knowing she needed to help this lost soul.

"I'm scared to go. I don't know what will happen." he says, clearly scared to death of crossing over.

"You shouldn't be. Over there is peace and happiness that you can't get while you are still here. I don't know what will happen either, but it is what you are supposed to do. You will find peace. Do you see the light now?"

"Yes! I see it!" he yells, smiling.

"Then go."

"I'm still scared."

"That's okay. You will find peace."

He goes into the light, and Melinda walks back into the kitchen.

"One down. Let's see how many I can get today." she jokes as she sits back down to finish her breakfast.

"Knowing you, I'm sure it will be a lot." he jokes back to her. "Now, I have to go work and save some lives. See you later. Love you."

He begins to leave when Andrea yells at him.

"You wanna come with me today?" he asks her.

"Yeaaa." she says and nods her head.

"If you need, bring her by around lunch time, and I'll take her off your hands." Melinda tells him.

"Alright. Let's go!" he kisses Melinda and leaves.

She leaves soon after.

She arrives at her antique shop, and meets her best friend and business partner, Delia, and begins to work.

The day was a rather slow one. Melinda is in the back doing paper work, when she feels a chill.

She turns around, and a young girl is standing behind her.

"Can I help you?" Melinda asks in a friendly voice.

"Nope. I'm pretty good." the girl says. She can't be any older than 20.

"Why are you still here? You need to crossover, go into the light." she says.

"Nope. I don't want to. Plus, he told me not to. He had a very convincing argument too. What's yours?"

"Going into the light is what you are supposed to do. You will find peace." Melinda says knowing exactly who 'he' was.

She laughs. "Wow. You really need to work on your convincing skills. Nah, I'll take his deal. It sounds much better."

"NO! Don't do it. It's not right. You are not supposed to stay here." Melinda screams, getting tired of him not letting people crossover.

"Sorry, I've already made my choice." Then, she disappears.

"Damn it! I have got to take this guy down."

_ring! ring!_

She sees it is Jim calling and answers.

"Hey, I'm gonna bring Andrea by. She is causing some trouble with the guys. She is one big flirt." he laughs.

"Okay. That's great. I'll see you in a few."

"I was thinking we all could go out for lunch before I go back to work."

"Yes, I am so hungry."

"Alright. I'll meet you outside, and then we can go. I'm leaving now."

"Okay." she hangs up, and heads out into the store.

"Delia, Jim and I are going to go out for lunch. You okay here?"

"Yes, I got it covered. Could you bring me back something? I don't care what."

"You got it. Back in a bit."

When she gets outside, there is a tall brunette standing in the street looking right at her.

She is clearly stressed and in need of help.

Melinda begins to walk towards her, but then Jim comes up, and kisses her on the cheek.

"You ready to go eat?" he asks.

"Yeah, let's go." She grabs Andrea, and heads off.

She looks back and sees the brunette still staring at her. There is something that draws her to this mysterious brunette, and she knows she needs to help her. And she is determined to.

**TBC**

A/N: I hope you liked it! Reviews are welcomed and encouraged! I hope to have the next chapter up soon.


	4. We Meet Again

Summary: Sara and Melinda meet and have a talk.

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! I hope you like this chapter. Reviews welcome and encouraged!

**Chapter 4: We Meet Again**

I decide to walk around the small town.

The atmosphere is so much different than Las Vegas.

The people seem to know everyone. They actually stop to take in their surrounding, and talk to one another, instead of stopping to kill one another.

It's nice here. I always lived in a big city, and never got to experience the small town life. It seems pleasant. I can add that to the list of things I wish I had gotten to do. Wow, that list is getting pretty long.

After walking around and taking in the town, I decide to sit on the bench across from Melinda's store, and wait on her.

Another spirit stops and talks to me, but I brush him off. He can't help me, and that is all that I want right now.

The sun is setting, and I can see her inside the store. I debate on whether or not to go in. But, instead of bothering her, I wait outside.

She finally leaves, and on her way out she looks at me and walks over.

"Hi. I'm Melinda. I saw you earlier. Is there something you need?" she asks me.

"I heard you can help me." I say, "Can you help me?"

"That's what I do. What's your name?" she asks as she sits next to me.

"Sara Sidle."

"So Sara, tell me what you need." she says as a man walks by and gives her a funny look for talking to herself. If she does this a lot, I'm surprised someone hasn't put her in a metal institution yet.

"I was murdered a year ago. I was ready to move on, but I had to check on someone first. I'm glad I did. He was so broken up." I begin, tears coming as I remember how broken Grissom was after they found my body. "I decided to stay, and hoped he would find some peace. He never did. And now, he hates me for dying. So I realized I need to help him. Someone told me you could help, so here I am"

"How close were you two?"

"We dated for almost 2 ½ years. Best years of my life." I say, and they were. Having him in my life made me feel important and wanted. Like someone actually cared about me, and my well-being.

"What's his name?"

"Gil Grissom."

"Tell me about you guys. But, let's go for a walk, shall we?" she asks as she gets up.

"We met at a seminar in San Francisco." I say as I too get up, walk along side her. "He was fascinating. We kept in touch, and then he offered me a job. I took it. It took us a while before we became more than friends. More like 4, almost 5 years. But, when we did, we were so happy. No one knew. He was my boss, so that was why we kept it a secret. It never came out until I went missing. I left him alone for five minutes and he told everyone we were having this fabulous little secret love affair. Oh, god I miss him."

"How long did you know each other?"

"Oh, wow you had to ask." I laugh. "Um...about 15 years, I think. A long time."

"Yeah, I haven't even known my husband that long. You must've been patient."

"Yeah. One of the most patient people in the world." I say and we both laugh.

"So where can I find him? I would love to help you."

"He won't be very open to talking to you. It took me over a decade of knowing him to get him to open up to me."

"Well I can try. It will help you crossover, and him to find peace. It is worth a shot. Don't you think?"

"Yeah. I hate seeing him like that. He needs to let go, and I need to move on."

"Yes you guys do. So where can find Gil Grissom?"

I sigh and say, "Vegas."

**TBC**

A/N: Will she go or not?? Next chapter to come soon. Please review. I know totally OOC for Sara to just open up like that, but she knows she needs to in order to get help.


	5. VEGAS?

Summary: Melinda and Jim discuss going to Vegas.

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Sorry for the delay. I have been out of town and working and just haven't had time. I hope you like it. This chapter is not from Sara's POV. It is Mel and Jim talking. Please review.

**Chapter 5: VEGAS?!**

"Vegas?!" Jim asks as he comes into the living room after putting Andrea to bed.

"Yes. She is from Las Vegas, Nevada." Melinda replies.

"She wants you to go all the way to Vegas to tell her boyfriend not to hate her for dying?"

"He was more than just her boyfriend. They dated for over two years. She said that if she believed marriage was anything other than a useless tradition then they would have been married. Oh, and he was also her boss."

"She was practically married to her boss?"

"Yep. I did some research on them." Melinda says as she walks over to the computer and brings up an article from a newspaper. Jim follows and looks over her shoulder. "His name is Gil Grissom. He is a world known entomologist. He has been a Crime Scene Investigator for over 20 year, most of those at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. He writes articles for journals, does lectures at colleges, and is madly in love with one Sara Sidle."

"Huh. So what's her story?" Jim asks as Melinda pulls up another article picturing a young, pretty brunette.

"She had a rough childhood. He parents were drunks, and her dad abused them. Then one day when Sara was 12, her mother snapped and stabbed her father to death. She was put into foster care until she graduated and went to Harvard at 16."

"Harvard at 16? Wow, she must've been smart."

"Ya think?" Melinda says as they both chuckle. "She then went to Grad school at Berkley, and majored in Physics. She was a CSI in San Francisco for a few years, until she moved to Vegas in 2000. She's lived there ever since."

"How did she die?"

Melinda pulls up another article.

"Oh my god." Jim says wide-eyed at what the article in front of him says. "That is a horrible way to die."

"The article says death wasn't immediate and that she was conscious through most of it. No one should have to remember that. Or even go through it."

"No they shouldn't. Could you imagine the pain that would cause? I couldn't." Jim says as Melinda shakes her head no.

"They didn't even find her until a couple of days after she died. They're lucky the animals hadn't gotten to her yet." Melinda pauses before saying, "Jim, I have to help them. There is no way she will crossover if I don't go to Vegas and speak to him. Please, Jim I need to do this. And you could come. You haven't had a vacation in a while."

"I don't know. Yes, we could use the vacation, but it is so sudden. I don't know if I would be able to take the time off of work so soon. And don't think you are going to Vegas without me." Jim adds when Melinda starts to suggest it.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I know how badly you want to." Melinda says as she gets up and they head to the couch.

"What about Andrea? If we go, should we take her or leave her here?" Jim asks as he takes a seat next to his wife.

"I don't know. She's never been away from us for more than one night. But, we haven't had any real alone time since she was born."

"I think we need a vacation, just us. I'm sure Delia would watch her. And you will be calling hourly, so she will be fine. What do you think? A vacation in Las Vegas, some gambling, going out on the strip, no kid, hotel sex, helping a ghost tell her boss she loves him...How about it?" Jim says scooping Melinda onto his lap and nuzzling her neck.

"I say yes. Just make sure you can get off of work." Melinda says as Jim begins trailing kisses along her neck.

"Oh, I can. Bobby owes me. I covered for him for a week one time. He can do the same for me."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

In his best Elvis impression, which kinda sucks, Jim says "Vegas baby!"

**TBC**

A/N: I wasn't sure about how long Grissom has been a CSI. I guessed that since he is 50, that he has been at it over 20 years. I think Sara was either 12 or 13 when she went into the system, since the court case against her mother was in 1984 and she was born in 1971. I hope you liked it. Yeah, it is kinda short, sorry. Reviews arew welcomed and appreciated!


	6. In Las Vegas

Summary: Sara meets Melinda and Jim in Las Vegas.

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: I hope you like this chapter. Thanks a bunch for the reviews. I know I left some out between them saying they will go to Vegas, to them in Vegas, but I needed to get the story moving. And what happened then is not really important to the plot of the story. Sorry for another short chapter. The next one should be longer, hopefully. Please review.

**Chapter 6: In Las Vegas**

I sit on the bed in room 1408 at the Tangiers waiting on Melinda. Ever since she told me the other day that she would go to Vegas to help Grissom and me, I have been so happy.

I hear footsteps and then a card swiping, and she and Jim enter.

"Sara?!" Melinda says when she sees me, "How did you know where we were staying?"

"I was listening in when you made the reservation…and I was standing behind you just a few minutes ago when you got your room key." I say, "I think I have processed this room as a crime scene before. Huh, room 1408 at the Tangiers. Yep, I have. Anyways-"

"So, she here? Where?" Jim interrupts as he looks around. Evidentially he can't see ghosts or spirits as we are often referred to. Mostly because that's what we are, spirits from people who once lived.

"She's sitting on the bed. Sara, meet my husband Jim. Sara, Jim. Jim, Sara." she says as she gestures between the two of us.

"Hi, Jim." I say which it beyond pointless since he can't see or hear me.

"Hey Sara. How's it going?" he asks looking in my general direction.

"I'm dead, how do you think its going? Please tell him to shut up. He can't even see me or hear me. It's pointless." I say to Melinda.

"She said to shut up Jim."

"Alright. I will." Jim says, putting his hands up in surrender and heading into the bathroom.

"So when are you going to go see Gil?" I ask, anxious to get on with this. I've waited for over a year. I'm a little less patient in the afterlife.

"Can't you at least let us settle in a little? We have a week Sara." she says as she sets her bag on the bed and begins unpacking.

"Trust me; you should have taken a month off, or longer. It took me over a decade to get him to open up to me. A week is not going to be enough." I say. I told her it would take a while to get Gil to talk. Why she didn't listen, I don't know.

"Well, he better be open to opening up, because I only took off a week." she says, putting some clothes in the closet.

"And if a week isn't enough? Then what? You leave, and tell me good luck with crossing over. If you don't, then enjoy eternity watching the man you love suffer." I say shocked that she would travel all this way and then leave me alone after one week.

"Listen, let's just give it this week, then we will go from there. I don't know if I will be able to stay longer. I have a kid to take care of, and we have never been away from her for a long time. You never know, I may be able to get Gil to talk sooner than you think."

"Yeah, right. Good luck with that." I say sarcastically as Jim comes back into the room and flips on the television, and flops down on the bed right on top of me. Out of all the places for him to flop down on, he picks right where I am.

"Thanks Jim!" I say as I get up and switch the channels, which freaks him out. "Ha! That's what you get for sitting on me." I like that I can do that without a remote now.

"Whoa! Is she doing that?" Jim screams as he jumps up.

"Yes she is." Melinda laughs. "She's mad because you sat on her."

"Sorry Sara. I couldn't really see you. I'll ask before I sit next time." he says as he sits back down. "Your not here are you?"

"S'ok, and no I'm not there. I couldn't really feel it anyway. No, you don't have to say that to him." I add when Melinda starts to tell Jim that I can't feel things anymore. Physical things anyway.

"Alright. Well, how about we go see Gil tomorrow morning. He works nights doesn't he?" I nod and she continues. "So we can go in the morning. He should be getting off work, and maybe I can convince him to have coffee or something. Okay. I will see you tomorrow morning, at oh, let's say eightish? Alright. See ya then. Bye." She smiles and waves me off.

"Okay. See you tomorrow." I say as I leave. If she thinks she can waltz into the lab and invite Gil for a cup of coffee and fix things between us that easily, then she has another thing coming.

I think about where to go. I need to stay around a clock so I don't walk in there a month from now thinking it has only been a day.

I don't really want to go back to the lab. I haven't seen him since the day I left to find help. Who knows how long ago that has been? I don't. One major downfall about being dead, well besides being dead, is that I have no sense of time. I wish I was wearing my watch when I died. It could come in handy. That piece of crap probably wouldn't work anyways.

I want to go see Gil, but if I do, I don't know if I will be able to leave him again.

I decide not to, and just wander around Vegas. The clock says it is 2:15 in the afternoon. I need to give Jim and Melinda some alone time. I won't go back there until morning.

I will walk around until then. I miss Vegas. I miss feeling. I miss time. I miss Gil.

**TBC**

A/N: I hope you liked the chapter. The next one should be up soon. Please, please, please review. I'm begging here.


	7. First Meeting

Summary: Melinda goes to meet Grissom, but will he talk to her?

Disclaimer: I only own Isabelle and Jack, the rest belong to CBS.

A/N: Sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up. I started a new job, and this chapter is longer, so it took longer to write. Thank you all so much for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Chapter 7: First Meeting**

After roaming around Vegas all day and night, I return to Melinda's room at eight.

Jim is sitting on the bed watching T.V. and Melinda is finishing putting on her make-up.

"Morning Sara!" she says as she sees me come in.

"Morning." I say back. "Are you-"

"Is she here?" Jim cuts me off.

"No, I'm just practicing what I'm going to say when she gets here." Melinda replies sarcastically.

"Oh, okay." Jim says, "Well, in that case you need to come up with something a little better than 'Morning Sara!'"

"Tell him to shut up, please!" I say. I have taken an unliking to Jim for some reason.

"I was kidding she is right here, and she says for you to shut up." Melinda tells him as she does a final swipe of her powder and sticks it in her make-up bag.

"You know, I'm beginning to think that it is you wanting me to shut up and not her."

"No, it's me." I say, and to show him, I shut off the T.V. and send the remote across the room.

"Hey! Why did you do that? That's a good show." Jim complains.

"She's proving her point. Are you ready to go?" Melinda asks me.

"Yep, let's get going." I say.

"Alright. Bye honey." Melinda kisses Jim, and heads for the door. "And be sure not to spend ALL of our money."

"I'll try." Jim replies.

We leave and head for the lab.

CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW

We enter the lab, and make our way to the reception desk.

"Good morning," Melinda says to Judy in her way too cheery voice for this early in the morning.

"Good morning, ma'am. How can I help you?" Judy asks.

"My name is Melinda Gordon, and I would like to talk to Gil Grissom."

"Okay. He and his team are out in the field right now, but they should be back soon, if you would like to wait."

"I will. Thank you, and have a wonderful day." Melinda responds as she takes a seat on the bench near the desk.

"So, he is in the middle of a case huh? Good luck at getting him to leave and talk to you now." I say.

"People take breaks don't they?" Melinda says quietly and without moving her lips much.

"What was that miss?" Judy asks.

"Oh, nothing." Melinda says, embarrassed. I figured with all the talking she does to 'herself' she would be used to it by now.

"People do take breaks, but not people around here, and especially not Gil." I say.

"I will figure something out." She says under her breath and smiling to someone who passed and gave her a funny look.

A few minutes later, after sitting in silence to keep Melinda out of an institution, I see the gang walk in.

"There he is. Go, now!" I say pointing, and she gets up.

"Excuse me, Dr. Grissom." She yells as he, Catherine, Nick, Greg, Isabelle, and Jack begin to walk down the hall.

They all stop and turn around.

"Hello. And you are…?" Grissom says.

"My name is Melinda Gordon. I need to talk to you about something. In private."

"And what would that 'something' be?" he asks, making air quotations.

"Sara Sidle."

He freezes, and so do Catherine, Nick, and Greg. Isabelle and Jack just look confused, like want to ask who that is, but by the look on everyone's faces are afraid to ask. They never met me. Jack came right after I died, and Isabelle came here in late January.

Probably a few seconds later, Grissom says, "You are not to talk about her." and walks away, leaving everyone standing there.

Catherine is the first to speak. She is furious.

"You, my office, now! Follow me." She says, pointing at Melinda and walking off towards her office.

Melinda looks at me and gives me a look that asks 'what' and 'who'.

"Unless you want to be a soul instead of helping them, I suggest you follow her." I say and we walk off towards Catherine. "Her name is Catherine Willows. She's pretty bossy. When we get into her office, I'm sure she will tell you off for bringing me up. I sort of forgot to tell you I am a subject that is not allowed here. Sorry." She scowls at me as we reach our destination.

"Come in and take a seat." Catherine says, or rather demands.

She does and I sit in the chair next to her.

Catherine just stares at her for a bit.

Then, it comes.

"Who in the hell do you think you are waltzing in here, and bringing up Sara? No one is allowed to talk about her. And especially with Grissom. And if you absolutely had to talk about her to him, you could at least have started off with some small talk, not going right to talking about her. It is just too hard for any of us to talk about her. It's been a year, damn it, we should be over it by now, but no one is. We all blame ourselves for not saving her in time." She says, in tears from the time she says my name.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to talk to him about her." Melinda says, uncomfortable for the first time since I met her. I think she finally realized that this is going to be a lot harder than she thought.

"Do you want to kill him too? Because if you go talking to him about her, it will kill him. As much as I hate to say it, I'm surprised it hasn't killed him already. We can't lose yet another CSI. We've already lost two in this past year. I don't think we would survive losing a third."

"I'm very sorry for your losses. But, I really need to talk to him. It is very important."

"What is it about?"

"Um…well..you see-" she starts, but I cut her off.

"Oh, for god sakes, just tell her. Sara's soul is still here, and has been haunting the lab ever since she died. She needs to tell Grissom to get on with his life and to stop hating her." I tell her, while she sits there smiling, trying to look like she is thinking about what to say, and Catherine is looking at her very impatiently.

Melinda takes a deep breath, and says, "Sara's soul is still here. She can't move on, because she knows that Dr. Grissom hates her, and she needs him to forgive him. Otherwise, she can't move on."

Catherine lets out a chuckle that turns into a full blown laugh.

"That is the biggest load of crap that I have ever heard." She says as she continues to laugh.

"It's true. In fact she is sitting in the chair next to me right now." She says as she gestures in my direction.

Cath just continues to laugh.

"Do you have a code story or something that I can say, so she will believe me." She asks as she turns towards me.

"Nope. We weren't really friends. Can we just leave, and go see Gil? Please!?"

She turns back to a now settling down Catherine. "Okay, well believe me or not, I'm going to go. See you later probably."

She stands up and heads towards the door.

"Leave Grissom alone. He does need to talk about her, but he needs one of us to talk to, a friend. Not some lady off the streets who claims to see Sara's soul. You got me?"

"Yes, I do. See you later Catherine." And with that she walks out the door and heads down the hall.

"Wait. How did-. Never mind." Catherine says, sitting back and scrunching her brow in thought.

"Like she said Cath, she can see me. I told her a little about you." I say, getting up and going after Melinda.

"We have to go see him. I don't care what Catherine said." I say, "Come with me. We'll see if he is still in his office."

His office is dark, and the door is locked, but I go in anyways.

"He's not here." I say once I exit.

Just then, Nick walks by.

"Excuse me, but do you know where Dr. Grissom went?" she asks.

"Well, thanks to you bringing Sara up, he broke down, and we sent him home. And you need to leave him alone. You can't be bringing her up anymore. She is some-"

"Yeah, I know, she's a forbidden topic around here, Catherine already yelled at me. I don't need you too." Melinda says, cutting Nick off mid word.

"Well, you have some ball getting chewed out by Cath, and still pursuing the topic. But, you need to drop it. Please, for everyone's sake." He says as he walks off.

"Still think will be so easy?" I ask.

"No. Let's go. We can come back tomorrow, or go to his house or something later." She says as she starts to walk off, but is interrupted by a nosy lab ray.

"Hello, my name is David Hodges. And you are?" the annoying, ass-kissing, egotistical man asks her.

"Not available." Melinda says as she holds up her left hand to show him her wedding ring.

"Damn. The good ones are always taken. So, what bring to the Las Vegas Crime Lab, Not Avaliable?" he asks, clearly not taking the hint to leave.

"Well, that is none of your business. Now I need to leave, and get back to my husband. Because I'm married, taken, not on the market." She says and walks away, but he follows her. I suddenly think of a way to get rid of him.

He starts saying something about the David Hodges experience, but I start talking so I doubt she hears him.

"Okay, how to get rid of him. Tell him that even though grey hair can be attractive, it's not really a good color on him. Not only will he shut up and leave you alone, but his ego will take a hit, and his self esteem will take a nose dive."

She stops in the middle of the hallway, almost to the exit, and turns to him.

"You know, David, even though grey hair can be very attractive, it doesn't really suit you." And for the full effect, she pulls out a hair and throws it down. "There you go, one less to worry about. Bye. Enjoy the day."

"Nice. Loved the pulling out his hair. It was a nice little effect."

"Yeah. It was pretty great." She laughs.

"Alright, so you want to try again tomorrow?" I ask.

"Yes, if that works for you." She says as we walk out of the building and start walking down the street.

"It does. I'm going to go stay with Gil today. Same time then?" she nods her head and I say bye and head to his house. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

**TBC**

A/N: Please review. I'm still pretty tired with all the begging I did from the last chapter, but just because I'm not begging doesn't mean you shouldn't click that button. Please do. Next chapter to come soon!


	8. Let's Talk

Summary: Melinda and Sara talk before they go to see Grissom again.

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. Here is the next chapter. I wanted to get this up a LOT sooner than now, but I have been avoiding writing it. It was a hard chapter to write, as it details how Sara died. I hope you like it, even though it is a rather sad chapter. Please R&R anyways!!

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE SEASON 7 FINALE!!

**Chapter 8: Let's Talk**

I lie in bed next to Gil. He cried himself to sleep again tonight. I don't think he has gone to sleep any other way since the night since I died.

His face is contorted. He is having another nightmare; another nightly occurrence. Oh, why did I have to do this to him?

His breathing is ragged and tears at coming from underneath his eyelids. I hate seeing him like this. He screams and opens his eyes. He looks me right in the eye. I almost swear he can see me. I wish he could.

For a while he just stares in the direction of my eyes. Then, he gets up and goes into the kitchen. Bruno and I follow.

He gets a drink of water and goes back to bed. I lay next to him, and soon he is back to sleep.

I am watching him go through another nightmare when I hear someone calling my name. It takes me a second to realize who it is. The clock says it is only 3:32 P.M. What could she want?

"I'll be back." I tell him. "Melinda will help us."

I then leave to see what Melinda wants.

"I thought we were going to meet at 8." I say as I get to her room.

"Well, we were, but I thought that maybe we should talk first. By the way, Jim isn't here in case you were wondering." She says.

"Thank God." I say, as I sit down on the bed next to her. "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"Well, I want to know if there is a story I could tell to Gil. Something only the two of you would know about."

"Why?"

"Do you really think he is going to believe me when I tell him I have been talking to you?"

"I highly doubt it."

"Most people don't. So, I get a story that only those two know, and tell them, and then they usually believe me."

"Ok, hmm." I think of a moment in our lives together that I can use to convince him. Just about anything would work. We were very private people. But, it can't be just anything. It has to be a monumental point in our relationship. But what? Suddenly it clicks, the perfect moment. Not too personal to tell someone, but something that only the two of us know about.

"I got it. How do you feel about Shakespeare?" I ask smiling at the memory.

I spend the next whatever amount of time trying to get her to learn some of the lines. She just can't. After a long time, according to clock, I give up on her learning it.

"How about I just give it to you line by line? Otherwise you will be leaving by the time you learn it." I laugh.

"That works, but I do know the story behind it. That you won't have to feed me." She laughs too.

"So, Sara, umm, I did some reading when you came to me, but..." I stop laughing. She's not going there is she? "I want to hear what happened from you view, bot a reporters." She is.

"Why? You just said you know what happened. Why do you want my version?"

"Yours is a lot different perspective than the newspapers. I want to hear it."

I take a deep, steadying breath. "Okay. Where to begin?"

"Start at the beginning. When you were taken."

"Okay." I take another deep breath and plunge into the worst night of my life.

"I was getting ready to head into work. I got to my car and put my kit in the back, when I heard a woman call out my name. I turned around and then I felt a sharp pain, kind of like a jolt or something, in my abdomen, and I fell to the ground.

"My vision was blurred, and I could barely make out her outline. But, I saw her coming towards me. Then, I felt her put a needle in my neck, and then it all went black.

"The next thing I know, I wake up with this heavy object on my legs. I was so cold and wet. I didn't know what was going on. Whatever she did to me scattered my memory for a while.

"I kept trying to get out. But, it was too heavy. It took me while to realize I was under a car. I could barely breathe. Hell, I couldn't even move a muscle. Well, one hand was out in the open, and I kept grasping at the mud. I knew there was no way I was going to get out by myself, but I kept trying.

"I had no idea where I was. The way I was laying made it impossible for me to see from under the car. I was all alone. I hadn't felt that alone in a long time. Not since Gil and I began dating. I had forgotten what it felt like. But, I soon remembered."

I pause to collect myself. We are both crying now. I let some more tears fall and continue.

"It was pouring that night. It didn't take long for the water to start pooling under the car, around my face. I could barely move my head. As the water pooled I lifted my head, but it hurt so much. The space was so small that it didn't matter much anyways.

"I was so tired and in pain. I was losing consciousness. I just wanted to give in and sleep, but I knew if I did I would never wake up. I didn't want to leave him. I tried to hold on, but there was no way. The water was coming in so fast. With every breath, I was chocking on water and mud. I knew I was dying. I could feel my life draining from me, with every watery, muddy breath I took. I didn't want to go, but the next thing I knew, it all went black. Then I was looking at myself, lying under a car in the middle of the desert…dead."

"Wow…reading articles is a…lot different…than hearing it…first hand." Melinda says through tears.

"Yeah, try experiencing it." I say. After she opens and closes her mouth several times, I say, "You don't have to respond to that. I hope you never have to go through something like that."

"I'm sorry you had to die like that." Melinda says as she puts her hand on my hand.

"Why did I?" I cry out, getting angry. "I was a fighter. I should have held on. Why didn't I?"

"Sara, you tried. Sometimes, people just...die, even if they are fighting with everything they have. You can't blame yourself. Blame Natalie. She killed you, not yourself."

"But, I'm the one who gave up."

"No, you didn't. You fought. You did not give up. You can't think that Sara. Don't think like that."

"Your right Melinda. I fought 'til the end." I pause and continue with my story. "They didn't even find me until that evening. I stayed with my body until then. Luckily, no animals came. The car protected me from them, but not from the bugs. There were a few of them. Gil would have enjoyed them, had they not been feasting on the body of his soul mate.

"They didn't even have to get next to the car to know I was dead. They could smell it. David estimated time of death to be between one and two in the morning. I rode back with Catherine and Brass. They were the ones who told him they were too late, way late. He instantly broke down. I stay with them for the rest of the investigation. I found out the why and how she did it. She is now in a mental institution.

"I went to my funeral. Gil couldn't bring himself to cremate me, even though I wanted to be. I understand though. I hoped he would find peace, so I could move on, but he still hasn't, so here I am, one year later, talking to you."

"I will help you guys." She assures me. And I know she will. "Thank you, by the way, for telling me all of that." She says as she continues to wipe away the tears.

"I've never really talked about it. Thank you for having me-" I begin, but am cut off by an annoying husband, who had to choose this moment to walk in.

"Hey, hon. I am back from the casino, and guess what, we still have money." Jim says as he walks in, but sees that Melinda has tears running down her face. "Honey are you okay? What's the matter?" he asks as he sits right on me. Always right on me.

"Does he always have to sit right on me? There is whole bed here!" I say as I get up and sit in a chair.

"Sara and I were just talking. By the way you pissed her off again." She says, as Jim cups her face. I miss Gil doing that to me.

"I sat on here again?" Melinda nods. "Sorry Sara. I didn't see you there."

"Of course you didn't and you are not forgiven. You have sat on me too many times."

"Hey, Jim, why don't you get showered and changed while Sara and I finish up?"

"Okay. Love you. See you later Sara." He says as he walks into the bathroom.

"No, you won't." I pointlessly remind him. "Anyways, thanks for letting me talk about it. I think I'm going to go back to Gil. Okay."

"Alright. See you tomorrow around eight?" she asks me, standing up.

"Yeah. Just at least work on that thing a little bit. Otherwise it will take twice as long to do."

"I will. See you tomorrow morning Sara."

"Bye." I say as I leave to be with Gil.

**TBC**

A/N: Please take note that I DO NOT want Sara to die. She is my favorite person in the world. Sometimes I even like her more than my own family (how pathetic am I?). But sadly I had to have her die in the finale for my story. Sorry, I hate that I had to too. **LONG LIVE SARA!!!** Reviews are encouraged and appreciated.


	9. A Second Meeting

Summary: Melinda takes another shot at talking to Grissom.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, but since my birthday is Saturday, maybe you could give them to me for my Sweet 16!!

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed!! I know, I know, it's been like a month since I last updated and I am so very sorry. My muse also got mad at me for killing Sara, so it abandoned me. I finally got a new one on E-Muse. So I have a new one, who hates that I killed her too, but is willing to give me a shot. Plus, I have been working a lot, welcoming a new cousin into the family, and celebrating my mom's 40th birthday!! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and again I am so sorry that it has been so very long since I updated. Please review!!

**Chapter 9: A Second Meeting**

When Gil left for work, I decided to stay here at our house. I sit on our bed reminiscing about all the great times we had on here.

I look over at the clock and it is almost eight.

I go to Melinda's hotel room, and she is sitting on the bed watching T.V. with her annoying husband who always sits on me.

"Hey, Melinda, are you ready to go?" I ask as I enter.

"Yep, let's go." She says as she gets up. Jim looks very confused, but says nothing. I'm sure he's used to his wife saying thing out of the blue. "Bye hon, we are going to go get Dr, Grissom to talk. Love you."

"First off, please stop calling him Dr. Grissom. Gil or Grissom is fine." She nods and says okay. "Second of all, did you practice?"

"Yes, I did, and I think that I have it down pretty well." She says as we get on the elevator.

"Alright, because if you mess this up, you are going to be the one needing help crossing over, not me." I say.

"Don't worry, I won't mess this up."

"Okay."

CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW CSI/GW

We get to CSI by a cab and enter. Melinda walks up to Judy and asks to see Gil.

"I'm sorry Miss, but you can't. Miss Willows said that if you come back to make you leave, and if needed to call security." Judy said.

"Why? I just want to talk to the guy." Melinda says.

"It's because you want to talk about Sara. In case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly talk about her here."

"So I've been told. Can't you just ignore her and let me talk to him? Please." Melinda begs.

"No, I'm sorry ma'am. I can't." Judy replies. This is getting ridiculous. They just need to get over it already. I hate being referred to as an 'off-limits subject'.

"According to the schedule it's Cath's night off. Use that. She'll hopefully cave in." I tell Melinda.

"Is Miss Willows even working tonight?" Melinda asks.

"No, but uh…that doesn't matter. I still can't let you in."

"Come on, I am desperate to talk to him. And if I don't get to here, I'll just go to his home and talk to him. I'll also mention that a very nice and helpful receptionist gave me his address. He would just love that now wouldn't he?" Man she is good at this. I never thought about going down that route.

"No, he wouldn't like that. Here is a visitor's pass. Do you know where his office is?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you, Judy."

She grabs the pass, fastens it to her shirt and turns to the wrong direction.

"It's this way. Right here in fact." I say pointing a few feet away from us.

Melinda knocks on his door and he yells for us to come in.

"You ready?" I ask. She nods in reply.

We enter, and Gil looks up and all of the color drains from his face. "I thought I told you I was not going to talk about Sara."

"I know, but you need to. She needs you to." Melinda says as she sits uninvited in one of the chairs in front of Gil's desk. I take the other chair.

"What do you mean 'she needs me to'?" he asks her, confusion evident on his face.

"Well, I was hoping not to get into this the minute we get in here, but here's the deal. Sara is here with me right now. She is sitting in the chair next to me. She came-" Melinda begins. Even I didn't think she would spill it that fast.

"Whoa, whoa, what are you talking about?" Gil says as looking from me, or I guess my seat, to Melinda. "You are crazy. Sara is dead. There is no way she is here." I wonder if she

"Yes she is. I have this gift. I can see spirits who have not crossedover. I talk to the person that they feel is keeping them here, and I help them, both of them. About a week ago, Sara came to me and asked me to come here to help. I did, and now I need to talk to me, so she can crossover." Melinda explains, and sure did a good job doing so. I still don't think Gil will be gushing out his thoughts any time soon.

"You are crazy. Sara is dead. She died and left me here, miserable and alone. And then you come along and tell me that she is here, and has probably been here since she died. And that I am the reason for that."

"Yes, she told me about how broken you were and that she couldn't leave you. Then you said that you hate her and she-"

Grissom breaks her off, "How do you know that? I know Catherine put you up to this to try and get me to talk about her. Didn't she? She is the only one I told that to. She has to be behind this."

"No, in fact Catherine told me yesterday to leave you alone. Sara told me. She was here with you then. She has been for the past year." Melinda explains.

"You are lying! I don't know who put you up to this, or if this is just some sick game of yours, but you need to leave and not come back. Sara is dead. Her soul is not still here, she did not tell you anything. Just leave and let me be!" Gil says breaking down.

Here Melinda goes. She better not screw it up.

"_Betwixt mine eye and heart a league is took,_

_And each doth good turns now unto the other:  
When that mine eye is famish'd for a look,  
Or heart in love with sighs himself doth smother,  
With my love's picture then my eye doth feast,  
And to the painted banquet bids my heart;  
Another time mine eye is my heart's guest,  
And in his thoughts of love doth share a part:  
So, either by thy picture or my love,  
Thy self away, art present still with me;  
For thou not farther than my thoughts canst move,  
And I am still with them, and they with thee;  
Or, if they sleep, thy picture in my sight  
Awakes my heart, to heart's and eyes' delight._"

Wow, she did a really good job with that. I hope that she bugged the crap out of Jim working on that. He deserves it. I can't believe Gil has stayed quiet this long. Melinda got his attention the second she said 'betwixt'. Since then he has just sat there staring at her, with tears rolling down his face. I hate seeing him like this, but it needs to be done.

"Do you remember when you took that sabbatical at Williams? You wrote Sara a letter. In it you said that you don't know why you find it so hard to express your feelings towards her. You said that you miss her and can see her as if she was there with you. Shakespeare's sonnet 47 was the sonnet you said described what you felt about her.

"But you didn't mail the letter. You thought she deserved better than a letter telling her how you feel. A few months later, you decided to give it to her. She was reassured then that you did not leave because of her. You were completely forgiven at that point. Do you believe me now?" Melinda finishes. Gil is still sitting there, not saying anything.

"Sara?" Gil finally speaks, while trying to hold tears back.

"I'm here Gil." I tell him.

"She's here." Melinda tells him for me. "She has been all along. She misses you and she loves you."

"I miss her too. A day hasn't gone by, hell an hour, that I haven't thought about her." Gil says, tears finally escaping.

"That's why I'm here. She needs to make sure you are going to move on." Melinda explains.

"Move on? How am I supposed to move on and forget about the only person that I have ever loved?" Gil yells in frustration.

"You're not supposed to forget about her. Just be able to cope with it. Remember her, but not obsess about her. You need to forgive her."

"I don't know if I can. She died and left me here all alone. I'm not sure if I can forgive her and move on."

"NO!! Don't say that Gil. You can forgive me. I'm sorry. I didn't want to die. I didn't mean to. I tried to hold on. Please just forgive me." I beg him, vacating the chair I have been sitting in.

"She says that she didn't want to die. She tried to fight it. The last thing she though about was you, and how she didn't want to leave you. She's sorry."

"I still don't know if I can forgive her. I just need some time to comprehend all of this. People around here don't talk about her. I think that if people had tried to get me to, then I would be able to handle this better, but I haven't talked to anyone about her since her funeral. I just need some time. How about you come by tomorrow morning, same time?" Gil admits. I guess Melinda was right. She can get him to open up pretty quickly. I wish I had met her before.

"We'll be here." Melinda says. She gets up and walks towards the door.

"Tell her I love her and that I miss her too." Gil says.

"I know you do." I tell him.

"She knows. She can here you. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tell him I'm going to stay here if he wants to talk." I tell her.

"She's going to stay here. You can talk to her if you want to." She says and walks out the door.

"Oh Sara, I have so much to say to you. I just wish I could here you talk back to me." He tells me.

"I'm here and I'm listening." I say as I sit back in the chair and listen to what he has to say.

**TBC  
**


	10. Forgiveness?

Summary: Melinda once again visits Grissom. Can he forgive Sara?

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: Sorry it took a while to get this chapter up. It was kinda hard to write. I had to get into the mind of Grissom and his thoughts of Sara and their relationship. Not to mention that school is taking up a lot of my time now. I hope you like it and remember to review.

**Chapter 10: Forgiveness?**

"She was the only person I ever loved." Gil solemnly starts off. I stayed with Gil all night, and Melinda showed up at his office a few minutes ago. I sit on his desk while they sit on his couch. Oh, the memories on that thing, both of those things. I can tell he was ambivalent about opening up, but evidentially he changed his mind.

"I met her in San Francisco at a seminar. We hit it off immediately. Afterwards, we stayed in touch. Then, I asked her to move to Vegas, and she didn't even hesitate. And then she stayed without a second thought. I pretty sure it was because of me." He's right. When I got his call and he later asked me to stay, I didn't think twice about it. I would've done anything to be with him. Had I know it was going to take him almost five years to act on it, I would've given it another thought, but at least it all worked out.

"Ever since we met, we had this sexual tension between us. It was so hard for is not to act on it in San Francisco. Then, here it was even harder. We danced around each other for about five years. I just couldn't commit to it. Then, after she got suspended, we decided to try it. I wasn't sure, but I thought I would just see what happens. And when I almost lost her to a mental patient, I realized that I needed her and I couldn't imagine life without her. That was when I decided to fully commit to a relationship with her. We had our ups and downs, but everything worked out great. I never thought I could love someone so much."

"She was very special to you wasn't she?" Melinda asks. Well, duh! Has she not been listening to what he has been saying?

"That's an understatement. She was everything to me." Gil responds. He eyes are getting teary. Knowing him, he will hold it in. He hates crying in front of other people. It took him a while to cry in front of me, much less a person he met a few days ago.

"I asked her to marry me once." Gil continues.

"Yeah, she told me you two would have been married had she not seen marriage as a useless tradition." Melinda says. Is marriage really anything else?

"Yeah," Gil chuckles. "That sounds like Sara. She said no practically before I had the words out of my mouth. At first, I was angry. I mean, here is this woman that I am totally and completely in love with, and she refuses to marry me. I thought she didn't feel the same way, but she explained it. She said she loved me more than life itself, but she would never ever marry me. That is was pointless and a useless tradition and she would never get married. She said we didn't need rings or a piece of paper to say that we love each other. That just being together was enough. And as long as I had her I was fine with anything. And, I'm sorry if any of this is offending you since I can see you are married." Gil explains motioning towards her ring.

"No, it's okay. I'm not offended. Everyone is entitled to their opinion on marriage." Melinda says.

"A few days later she asked to move in with me. She told me that since she wouldn't marry me, then the least she could do is live with me. We decided to buy a house. Start out fresh, and then came the dog, Bruno. I miss him. I gave him to the neighbors down the street. They loved him almost as much as we did, so I thought they would be suitable parents. I almost moved out, but I couldn't leave all those memories of her. We were so happy together. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her. She was my life. Hell, she still is. I haven't been able to get rid of any of her things. I tried, but it felt like that if I sell her things, then she is really gone. It was hard enough to get rid of Bruno, but Sara always took the best care of him. I knew that I wouldn't be able to give him what he deserves." Gil says, some tears escaping. I don't like that he gave away Bruno. He misses us. I visited him a couple of times. He is happy with the Bridgewater's. They love him.

"What was your relationship like before she died?" Melinda asks after giving Gil a moment to collect himself.

"It was great…for the most part."

"What do you mean 'for the most part'?" Melinda asks. I hadn't told her anything about our relationship pre-death.

"A couple of weeks before she died," he sighs. If this is leading to where I think it is… "I stayed at a friend's house wi-" Yes it is. I am not listening to this. I already know about his night with that, that…_woman_! And she is no friend of his. What kind of 'friend' doesn't even come to see you when your one true love dies? What kind of 'friend' hasn't called or even seen you in over a year? What kind of friend is that huh? Not a very good one I tell ya.

I'm so not listening to him talk about _her_. La la la la la…not listening…la la la la la. What's he saying now?

"She tried to kill herself, and I needed to help-" Still not listening. Yeah, I know she tried to kill herself and I am glad that you helped you, but you could have at least, oh I don't know, called me! That man can be so dense sometimes. But, I still love him. What about now?

"I explained it all to her and she eventually forgave me." Good, he's done with _her_. He's lucky he only had to sleep in the guest room for three nights. I should have given him more, but I caved. What can I say; I'm a sucker for him. "I haven't heard from Heather since." I cringe; he just had to say her name one more time didn't he?

"So, everything was good after that?" Melinda asks.

"Yeah, up until she died." Good, we're back to that.

"Yeah, we were planning on making breakfast together after shift. Blueberry pancakes, her favorite. I didn't think I could miss someone as much as I miss her. I have no idea how I have made it this past year. I'm basically running on autopilot. That's the only way I can get through work. At home, all I do is walk around touching her things and trying not to cry, but I always do. Any more, I'm just not sure it's worth it. I've lost the only thing in the world that mattered to me." Gil tells Melinda. Tears are pouring out of his eyes again.

"I know this is hard for you, but she needs you to stop this. She needs you to stop being so depressed and smile again. She needs for you to be happy again. But, most of all she needs you to forgive her for dying. She can't move on and be at peace if you don't."

After not speaking for a moment, Gil says, "I don't know if I can do any of that." What, oh come on Gil, you've come this far. It only took Melinda a few days to get you to open up, it took me several years. Just take that last step and forgive me damn it.

"Why not?" Melinda asks him.

"She was my world. She still is. How can I just stop being like this when I feel that my life has no meaning? I don't think I can forgive her for leaving me and making me feel like this." Gil sadly states.

"Don't say that. I didn't want to die. I hate seeing you like this. I just want you to be happy and stop sulking all the time. It's not good for you Gil. It's killing you." I say, standing up and coming closer to them.

"She says that she didn't want to die. She hates seeing you like this. It's killing you." Melinda tells him for me. I wish I could tell him myself, but if I could we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

"You know what, it doesn't matter what she wanted; that's what she did. She died and left me here to live miserably and alone. So, why should I care about what she thinks about my lifestyle? Her opinion stopped matter over a year ago." Gil says, anger rising in his voice.

"NO!! Stop saying that. I may be dead, but I still care. I don't want you to be miserable and alone. I love you and I hate you being like this. Please just listen to Melinda." I say as tears pour down my face.

"She says-" Melinda starts, but Gil cuts her off.

"Stop! I don't care what she says. I just don't care anymore. She can wonder this earth for eternity for all I care, because there is no way I will ever be able to forgive her!" No, no, no! Why won't her forgive me? The last thing I wanted was to die there. I didn't want for this to happen. Wait, where he going? He's leaving. I'm going after him.

"Are you coming?! I can't exactly talk to him." I yell to Melinda and she gets up and follows him too.

We chase him through the halls and we finally catch up to him by the A/V lab.

"Stop. You can't just walk away from this. Sara needs you." Melinda says as she grabs his arm and spins him around.

"I don't care what she needs! She's dead!" Gil yells at her. People are coming out of their work station to see what the commotion is about.

"Yes, she is dead, but she still needs you. She needs to leave and she can't do that without you. You need to stop being selfish forgive her so she can move on." Melinda says as Gil chuckles at her mention of him being selfish.

"I'm the one being selfish? I can't believe that you think I'm the one being selfish. Sara is the one being selfish." As he says my name, people visibly wince. I can't believe these people live like I never existed. It's like they have forgotten about me, since Gil doesn't let anyone talk about me. "She is the one who needs me to forgive her for dying, because she can't 'move on' if I don't. She wants to go into the light and live in eternity all happy and peaceful, while I live here depressed and miserable. If that's not selfish, then I don't know what is." Gil yells, anger clear in his voice and face.

"That's not selfish of her. It's what we are all supposed to do when we die. It's what we all need, including her. And you not forgiving her is keeping her from that." Melinda tells him.

"No." Gil says. That one word keeps destroying me and my hopes of leaving.

"Why not?" I yell at him.

"Why?" Melinda asks him for me.

"Because she doesn't deserve it. I hate her for what she did and there is no way I will ever be able to forgive her for that. Let her soul rot on earth forever for all I care. I hate her more than anything and will never ever forgive her." Gil says and starts to walk away. Now my anger is starting to rise and being a spirit that is not a good thing. "Oh and Melinda, if I you come back into this building, I will have you arrested." And with that he is gone. Off to live his life miserable and alone while I am stuck here to 'live' miserable and alone.

"I'm sorry Sara. I tried." Melinda says to me. My anger is really starting to take over. I've been wonder what I can do as an angry soul. I could do a lot as a person; I can't even imagine what I can do now. I can tell that I'm about to find out.

"That son of a-" I don't get to finish as my anger takes over and I unleash my spiritual energy on the Las Vegas Crime Lab.

The glass walls being to shake and break and it begins to rain glass.

"Sara STOP!!" Melinda yells at me as the equipment in the A/V lab let's out a loud, ear-piercing screech.

Everyone covers their ears and if they haven't already, they leave the scene.

"Sara, you have to stop this!" Melinda yells over the noise while covering her ears. Things in the labs are beginning to break now.

"NO! I hate him for doing this. This is all Gil's fault." I tell her. I can see the rest of the gang coming over to see my work. They look on is disbelief while covering their ears to try to block out the deafening screech. I'm sure they have no idea what's going on. After all, Catherine is the only one she told about me. Even she looks like she can't believe what she is seeing.

"Sara, you have to stop this and just crossover. You don't need to stay here. Just ignore Grissom and leave. It's what you need." Melinda desperately tells me.

"Never. I can't just ignore him." I tell her. Suddenly, everything stops: the noise the breaking, the chaos. People come out of hiding and just stare around and especially at Melinda. My anger is still there, but I must have used up all of my energy. I feel very weak and tired.

"Thank you for coming and trying to help me, but I can't crossover without his forgiveness. I'm sorry. Enjoy the rest of your life Melinda." I say and leave her, leave Gil, and leave the lab. Forever. I will never go back there. If he can't forgive me, he doesn't deserve to have me by his side all the time. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.

**TBC**

A/N: So how will it end? Y'all have to wait for the next chapter. I'm not sure what that will be. School started last week, so I'm not sure when I will have the time to write it. I will have it up before the premiere though, I promise you that. I hope you liked it. And I love reviews, so please, please review.


	11. Light or Limbo?

Summary: Will Grissom forgive Sara so she can more on or will she be forced to stay trapped on earth forever?

Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

A/N: Sorry times infinity plus one. I'm sorry to say that I have been so busy that I actually forgot about this story, but now I am finishing it. Thanks to everyone who has patiently waited and stuck with me. This is the last chapter. I hope that y'all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This was my first chapter story and I hope I did well on it. Please leave one last review.

**Chapter 11: Light or Limbo?**

I sit at my grave, contemplating what I am going to do. I can't go back to the lab, back to Grissom. If he can't forgive me, there is no way I am going to spend eternity around him and that place.

Now, as I stare at my headstone, instead of being slightly angered, I am furious that he did not cremate me. That is what I told him I wanted. After Jim was shot, we sat down and made out our wills and talked about what we wanted when it came to dying. I specifically told him I wanted to be cremated; to be dust in the wind. But, what's done is done.

I can't believe he didn't forgive me and let me move on. I was sure he would. But, tearing the lab up was quite fun. It was a great way to release my anger. I've always…

"Hey." A guy interrupts my thoughts. He is a little tall, with jet black messy hair and a slight 5 o'clock shadow. He sits down beside me and that's when I realize he's not dead.

"You can see me?" I ask him.

"Yep. It's a gift and a curse. Name's Gabriel by the way. I take it you're Sara Sidle?" He tells me gesturing towards my headstone.

"Yeah." I respond. So, what's this guy going to want?

"So, what are you still doing here? Looks like you died over a year ago."

"I needed to get my boyfriend's forgiveness before I left. It just took me a while to find someone to help me. And now he refuses to. He just can't understand that it wasn't my choice." I tell him, tears threatening to fall.

"You know, you don't have to crossover. You can stay here with the rest of us and have a better afterlife." He informs me.

"What!? There is no way I can do that. She said I needed to. That it is what we are supposed to do when we die. I can't stay here. It doesn't even feel right." I explain to him. There is no way I can stay here. This limbo just doesn't feel right. I have never felt more at peace than when I saw the light right after I died. Now I just feel confused and…I don't know what exactly.

"Who? Melinda Gordon?" He asks and all I do is nod and wrap my arms around my legs. "That's what she does best. Tricks you into believing that it's all good and peaceful and happy, happy, joy, joy on the other side of the light, but it's not."

"How do you know? You're not dead."

"Neither is Melinda. She's never been there. She is a master of deceiving and getting people to do what she wants. She gets people to say things to souls that they don't really mean, just to get them to crossover so she can sleep well at night."

"No! She isn't like that. Melinda wouldn't do that." I yell at him. Jim may be an ass, but Melinda would never lie like that. I don't believe him.

"Yes she would and she does. Besides, your boyfriend will never forgive you." Did he just say that? I've had enough of him.

"He will too. I know him. He's just…angry. He just needs more time. Hopefully she will talk to him more and convince him, but he will forgive me. I know he will."

"She will tell him to say what you want to hear, so she can go home and feel good about herself."

"NO!!" I scream. I stand up. I can feel my anger coming back. At least there is no glass around here to shatter, but there is concrete and trees. "She wouldn't do that. Gil will forgive me. I don't believe you. I--"

I'm cut off by someone yelling my name. It sounds so distant. Melinda! She is yelling for me.

"I have to go. Don't ever come near me again. That's if there ever is an again." I tell him and follow the voice of Melinda.

Next thing I know, I am standing in the middle of the crime lab, right on the mess I made previously, whenever that was.

"She's here." Melinda says, and I turn around to see the relieved faces of the team: Gil, Catherine, Greg, Nick, and Brass, with the lab rats standing by, but out of the way.

"What's going on?" I ask, looking back at Melinda, confused as to why this is happening, since Gil made it so clear that he cannot forgive me.

"I talked to Gil some more after you left a few hours ago. He has realized that it was not your fault and that he can forgive you."

"Really?" I ask and Melinda nods. "Thank you." I say as tears come to my eyes.

"Yes, he and the others have some things they need to say though. And I'm sure you do too." She tells me.

"Sara?" Gil asks and I move to stand in front of him.

"She's right in front of you." Melinda tells him. "Say what you need to say."

"Sara, I love you. I always have and I always will." Gil begins.

"I love you too, always and forever." I tell him.

"She says she does too." Melinda tells him for me.

He smiles and continues, "I have been so angry this past year that I haven't been able to think straight. I shouldn't have been so angry at you and blamed you for dying. I knew deep down that you didn't want to; that you would never leave me purposefully without saying goodbye."

"I didn't. That's why I'm still here." I tell him and in turn Melinda tells him.

"I couldn't leave and rest peacefully without saying goodbye and knowing that you would be okay." I say and again Melinda tells him for me.

"I'm glad you stayed. This is what I needed. I've been walking around sulking and just going through the motions of the job. I haven't been able to move past it, but now I think I may be ready to start." Gil says.

"And we'll all be here to help him. We always have." Catherine speaks up and the others nod their agreement.

"Thank you guys." I tell them and Melinda does her thing.

I first move to Catherine. "Cath…" I start.

"Catherine, she has something to say to you." Melinda tells her.

"We sometimes didn't get along, but I really looked up to you." I pause to let Melinda tell her that and Catherine starts to cry more.

"I know you have been looking after Gil this past year and I thank you for that. Please promise me that you will continue to do so. He really needs you now."

"She thanks you for looking after Gil and wants you to promise that you still will." Melinda says.

"I promise I will Sara. You were a wonderful person." Catherine responds and I smile and move to Greg.

"Greg." Melinda says and he looks around.

"You were one of the first people I connected with when I came to Vegas. I loved you like a brother, even though you had the biggest crush on me." I stop for Melinda to tell him and everyone laughs at my mention of his crush. "Sorry to tell you, but you never had a chance. We were great friends, but a relationship never would've worked. I still love you though."

"She said you never had a chance at more than a friendship, but she still loves you." Melinda says.

"I know that. But, hey…a guy can fantasize can't he. I valued our friendship so much. I am truly grateful to say that I was your friend." Greg says, barely able to hold it together.

"Thank you." I say as I move to Nick. "Nick you were like an older brother to me. You helped me through some hard times and were always there to listen to my problems and offer me a shoulder to cry on. You are a true friend and I love you for that."

Melinda tells him and he says, "You were a great friend too Sara. I was glad to be the one whom you trusted to come to with your troubles. You were a great friend too, Sara."

I turn to Brass. "You were like a father to me. You helped me through my alcohol problems. I don't know how my life would have turned out if you hadn't been there to make me realize my problems couldn't be solved in the bottom of a bottle. It made me a better person and I will always have you to thank for that."

My interpreter to the living tells him and he tears up. "Your welcome, Sweetie. I couldn't just sit back and watch you go down that path. I went that way and I wasn't going to let you. I am happy I got to be the one to help you through that hurdle."

"And you lab rats. You were some great friends to have over the years."

"You lab rats were some great friends to have." Melinda says looking at them.

"Anyone else have something to say?" I ask and the Melinda asks them.

"We all love you Sara. We are all honored to be able to call you a friend. And we will be here to look after Grissom." Nick says.

"We all miss you and we hope we will see you again." Greg says.

"You will." I say and then Melinda does.

"What about Warrick?" Asks Catherine. "Is he still here? Or did he, go?"

I shake my head. "He crossed over right after. He tried to get me to go, but I wasn't ready."

"He crossed over right after he died." Melinda tells them and they all heave a sigh of relief that another CSI isn't haunting the lab.

"I have something to say to everyone." I say and Melinda quiets everyone.

"I fought as long and hard as I could. I didn't want to die. I didn't deserve to die, but I did. And I'm sorry. I know you all blame yourselves, but stop. It's not your fault. You all tried as hard as you could. I don't blame you, so don't blame yourselves."

"She didn't want to die. She fought as long and hard as she could. She knows you all did your best to find her. She doesn't blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourselves." Melinda tells them for me.

"And Gil," I say and walk back to him. "You especially stop blaming yourself. You shouldn't be living like this. You need to move on, to be happy."

Melinda translates for me, "Gil, you especially need to stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault. You need to move on and be happy."

"I don't know if I can be happy without you Sara. You were, are, my life. I fell so lost and lonely without you." Gil says between sobs.

"You can. You have the team around you, supporting you. Let them. Don't make me an off limits topic. Talk about me, remember me, it will make the grieving process so much easier." I say stroking his cheek and he touches it. He knows it's me.

"Talk about her. It will make the grieving easier. Let the team support you." Melinda says and the team moves closer to him and Catherine puts her hand on his shoulder and he smiles at her.

"Promise me you will be happy. Promise not to dwell on it too much." I beg him.

"I promise." He replies to Melinda's telling him of my demand.

"I will always love you Gilbert Grissom." I say and give him a kiss on those gorgeous lips that I love. He cried even harder, if that is even possible, and puts his hand on his lips.

"I love you too Sara Sidle." He says, knowing what I said, without our conduit.

"I see it." I say, seeing the bright light and feeling so peaceful again. "It's just as beautiful as I remember it."

"She's ready." Melinda tells them.

Goodbyes, We love yous, and We miss yous ring through the halls.

"Warrick is waiting. And Pat, too. He's the one who told me about you. He said he would be waiting." I turn back for one last look at my family. "Take care of him."

I turn and walk into the white light; ready to find out what is one the other side…finally.

**9 Years Later**

I have been watching over Gil these past nine years. He has kept his promise. While, he has never found another person to spend the rest of his life with, which I didn't expect him to (you only get one soul mate), he did spend his last years happy.

He and the team became very close. They began to talk about me regularly. It made it easier for all of them, rather than having to bottle it all up inside. He still had his bad days, but they all stuck together and helped each other through it.

On May 17, 2017, my Gilbert had a heart attack in his sleep, not the way he wanted to go, but hey, I didn't want to drown in the desert.

I watch him leave his body and look around, finally looking into the light. Our eyes met and we smiled at each other. He walked into the light, and we were finally together again, forever.

"Hello, Gilbert. I've been waiting for you." I tell him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I'm glad to hear it. I love you." He tells me, putting his arms around my waist.

"I love you, too" I tell him back.

Our eyes lock and we stare into each other's eyes, saying all that needs to be said through our eyes. He leans forward and our lips meet in a gentle yet passionate kiss, uniting us for all eternity.

A/N: Yes, Warrick is dead, too. I slipped a comment in about that in an early chapter. He was going to be used for the extended part of the story, but since I didn't do it, I thought I would at least mention him again. I just want to thank all of you who read this story. I really enjoyed writing it and I absolutely loved reading your reviews, so please drop me one last one. Once again, thank all of you for reading and sticking with me on this!!


End file.
